Ten Man Miami hold on to Beat Cincinnati

Inter Miami secured their place in the MLS playoffs with a win over Cincinnati, avenging their humiliating defeat the last time the two sides met.

With that six-goal drubbing still fresh in the mind, Miami came out swinging from the first whistle and couldn’t have wished for a better start.

An early attack down the right-hand side as Yannick Bright combined well with Marcelo Weigandt, and his cross found Lois Suarez. The Uruguayan controlled the ball well with his chest before firing past Roman Celentano to give his side the best possible start inside the first minute.

Cincinnati had hardly touched the ball and were bemused to find themselves a goal behind. And it was about to get worse for the visitors, who didn’t help themselves.

A sloppy pass in the middle of the pitch by Obinna Nwobodo fell for Matias Rojas, who played a great one-two with Suarez before the striker latched on to the through ball. His deflected shot found the back of the net for a dream start for Miami.

Cincinnati may have been bemused after conceding the first goal, but now they were stunned. They had been conceding possession far too cheaply, essentially inviting Miami to attack, and weren’t being allowed to play their normal game.

They showed a glimmer of their attacking flair early on, but it was a tame effort that hardly tested Drake Callender, and it wasn’t until the half-hour mark that the big keeper was called into serious action.

A slick move by the away side down the right with a whipped-in cross from Luca Orellano to Kevin Kelsy. His neat flick was goal-bound before a great interception from Callender to push it over the crossbar and make a fabulous save.

Cincinnati started to enjoy more of the possession, but they hardly looked like troubling an Inter side that had the calming influence of Sergio Busquets in a defensive back five.

They looked comfortable and in control, but just before the half-time break, a clumsy Tomas Aviles sliding tackle was worthy of a yellow card, and having already been booked, he was sent off.

Two goals up and a man down, the game was set up for an intriguing second half. However, it rarely got going. Callender had to be on top of his game and made some excellent stops and defensive clearances throughout the second half. But it felt like a poor response from FC Cincinnati, who had the extra player for the entire second half but never showed the kind of urgency required.

They did start to step it up late on, and they certainly created chances, but they rarely made Miami seem like they were missing one player, and the Herons coped quite easily.

They did go close, but for a brilliant clearance by Hector Martinez, who continues to look comfortable since he was signed recently.

And Miami’s overall defensive performance should be applauded. Busquets and Co made very few mistakes and never seemed like losing. Although Suarez will make the headlines, this was a great team performance and a well-deserved win.